A two-year-old baby does not speak: we are looking for reasons and developing speech. A two-year-old baby does not speak: looking for reasons and developing speech Teaching a child to speak for 2 years

The first words spoken by a baby cause special trepidation in parents. From this time on, they begin to believe that their child is about to begin to speak coherently. However, this does not always happen. It happens that even when the child is almost 2 years old, the baby does not speak, but only makes incoherent sounds to others. At the same time, he can only hum, pointing to the object he needs with his finger. When should parents start to worry about this situation and take their child to see a specialist? In what situations is it enough to just wait and the child will start talking on his own?

Stages of speech development

The extent to which a child is able to operate with the concepts of his native language can determine his level of development, as well as his future performance. That is why a child’s speech should be developed from birth, ensuring correct pronunciation (in accordance with age) and timely expansion of vocabulary. At the same time, parents should not waste time acting blindly. First of all, they need to understand what the stages of baby speech development are.

The first of them lasts from birth to one year of life. This stage is called preverbal. Until the age of three months, the baby only perceives the speech of people close to him. However, even during this period he has a need for communication. The more often parents talk to their child, the more prerequisites he will have for moving on to the next stage of speech development. At the same time, words should be pronounced gently and affectionately, clearly and with a smile on the face. This is important for the development of the child’s future diction.

By the age of six months, the baby begins to master the art of dialogue. At first he pronounces syllables that only he understands. The little man uses them to designate the items needed for the game. The baby calls people close to him in his own way, and a little later, some actions. It is important for parents not to switch to their child’s language when naming objects correctly.

The next stage of development lasts from one to three years, when speech begins to emerge. The baby learns to form words from syllables and understand their meaning. Now he doesn’t have to see the item he decided to ask for. He himself can name the thing he needs. At this stage, the child is able to answer an adult’s question, since he already understands the meaning of the whole sentence.

At the age of 3 to 7 years, the baby will have to go through a stage that is characterized by the development of verbal communication. During this period, the child masters his native language independently while playing and learning new things. Adults should remember that at this stage they are required to use words correctly and try to answer the questions the child has. At the same time, explanations should not be unambiguous, but eloquent, with many examples. If parents contributed to the proper development of their child, then in the future he will reward them with good performance in all school subjects.

Conducting timely diagnostics

At each stage of speech development, parents should carefully monitor the baby’s behavior. Conducting timely diagnosis will be the first step towards the recovery of their child. What should moms and dads be wary of? They should sound the alarm if:

the newborn does not show any reaction to loud sounds and does not turn his head towards the mother’s voice;
the baby does not begin to walk in the period from 2 to 4 months and does not express an active reaction to the appearance of close people around him;
the child has little speech activity or a complete absence of babbling between the ages of nine months and one year;
the baby does not pronounce the simplest syllables at 12 months and does not fulfill basic verbal requests (for example, show an animal in the picture);
a little person at 1.5 years old does not speak simple words (“mother”, “woman”, etc.), and also does not show any reaction when adults pronounce his name;
a 2-year-old child does not speak or pronounces words poorly with slurred and monosyllabic speech;
a child over three years old is not able to compose the simplest sentence, knows less than thirty words and often confuses their endings.

Any of the above signs is a reason to contact a specialist. This will make it possible to exclude pathology or its timely treatment.

Neurological problems

It happens that a child does not speak for 2 years, hums and only points with his finger at the object he needs. This situation may be a consequence of a neurological disease. There is no point in brushing aside the problem and expecting everything to work itself out on its own. The sooner parents bring their child to a specialist and begin treatment for the pathology, the better it will be for the baby.

If a child does not speak at 2 years old, the reasons may lie in:

damage or underdevelopment of the brain, as well as the central nervous system, both during fetal development and during and after childbirth;
long-term toxicosis or threat of miscarriage during pregnancy;
chronic diseases and bad habits of the mother;
protracted or rapid labor;
taking medications contraindicated during pregnancy;
fetal hypoxia;
postmaturity or prematurity;
incompatibility of blood between mother and fetus;
birth injuries;
traumatic brain injuries and infectious diseases of the baby;
taking antibiotics that can affect the development of the little man.

Physiological problems

Speech in children develops gradually. It all starts with articulation and muscle strengthening. This prepares the speech apparatus. Only after it has been strengthened does the baby try to communicate with people close to him using simple sounds and learns to understand spoken words. From a year to a year and a half, a child’s active vocabulary is constantly expanding. The second year of life is characterized by a kind of “linguistic breakthrough”. During this period, the number of words that the little man pronounces increases every day.

If a child does not speak at 2 years old, the reasons for this condition often lie in the physiology of his development. It can be:

Hearing problems. This pathology leads to delays in intellectual development and, of course, speech. A child who is deaf or has no hearing at all is unable to speak normally. These problems can be either congenital or acquired. Moreover, they are the reason why a 2-year-old child does not speak. But if at 3 years old the baby does not speak words, despite the fact that until that time his speech complied with existing standards, then parents need to take their child for a consultation with an otolaryngologist.
Impaired articulation and underdevelopment of the speech apparatus. This may be another reason why a 2-year-old child does not speak. Poorly developed jaw and facial muscles lead to difficulty localizing sounds. This pathology occurs in case of early weaning or with a short frenulum under the tongue. Articulation impairment is indicated by severe salivation, a constantly open mouth and a gag reflex that is caused by solid food. This pathology also leads to the fact that a 2-year-old child does not speak.
Genetic predisposition. Why doesn't a child speak at 2 years old without any physical abnormalities? Perhaps the baby has relatives in his family who were also in no hurry to utter words. The reason for this lies in the immaturity of the nervous system, which slows down the growth of those cells that are responsible for speech activity.
Delay in intellectual development. The child’s speech, without any doubt, is affected by genetic pathologies such as metabolic defects and Down syndrome. Various viral diseases transmitted in the womb also negatively affect the development of the native language.

Autism

There are cases that a 2-year-old child does not speak due to impaired brain development. This pathology leads to autism. Its external manifestations can be seen in the disruption of social communication, limited interest and repetitive actions.

Childhood autism develops steadily and steadily. Its symptoms are observed even in adulthood. But in order to make sure the diagnosis is correct, it is necessary to confirm such signs of pathology as:

disruption of the baby’s communication with the people around him;
low social interaction;
stereotypical behavior and a narrow range of interests.

A child with such a pathology does not want to talk for a long time. 2 years is the age at which he is only able to repeat a word he has heard before. Such a child can remain silent even at five years old. At the same time, he will categorically refuse to communicate and protest hysterically against any violation of his regime.

Social reasons

Why doesn't a child speak at 2 years old, although he has no health problems? This may be influenced by certain social reasons, including:

Lack of demand for speech. Some parents complain that their child has not spoken for 2 years and 2 months. The reason for this may be either pedagogical promiscuity or overprotection of the child. The first case concerns a situation where the child is left to his own devices. At the same time, parents talk to him little, without stimulating the speech activity of their child. At first glance, it seems that such a baby is lagging behind in his development. The child has not spoken for 2 years and 2 months and has overly caring parents. Excessive guardianship from adults leads to the fact that the baby does not need to voice his desires. All he has to do is point his finger at the desired object.
Fear and stress. The child is 2 years 4 months old? Does not speak if he is in an unfavorable environment. At this age, the baby develops strong emotional experiences if the parents often quarrel, taking it out on the little person. Stress accompanies children when the family changes their place of residence and many other factors that reduce psychological comfort.
Bilingualism. Many parents are worried that their child is silent, despite the fact that the child is 2 years 5 months old. Such a child does not speak in cases where two languages are used for communication in the family. He takes everything that is said with difficulty. It is difficult for him to separate one language from another and understand the necessary meanings of words.
Hospitalization syndrome. Sometimes children develop cases of physical and mental retardation when they are separated from their mother due to a long stay in a hospital. In such cases, children begin to develop detachment from the world around them. A small child, while in the hospital, cannot speak basic words even at the age of one and a half years. The same syndrome is observed in those children in whose lives the mother is present only formally.
Negative attitude towards speech. If a child has a stubborn and independent character, then the perseverance and perseverance of the parents can lead to a negative result. Constant requests from adults to say this or that word cause their child to withdraw into himself and refuse to talk.

What to do?

Many mothers and fathers begin to sound the alarm when their baby, despite the fact that the child is 2 years old, does not speak. What to do in such situations? First of all, it is necessary to exclude pathologies of the hearing aid. After all, it happens that until the age of two, parents do not even suspect that the baby has problems. It is also necessary to consult a specialist to identify neurological diseases.

If the baby is physically healthy, but the child is 2 years old and does not speak. What to do? In this case, you can just wait. Many neurologists and speech therapists note an increasing trend that, in general, children begin to speak somewhat later than even 10-15 years ago. That is why experts advise not to sound the alarm even when a child of 2.5 years does not speak. They recommend just waiting until he is 3 years old. Only after this do doctors begin to work with the baby.

How parents should behave

Of course, if a child has not spoken for 2.5 years, you can wait. However, many parents prefer their baby to talk the same way as their neighbor. And this will require the creation of favorable conditions.

The child will begin to voice everything that is happening around him when certain living conditions exist for this, namely:

radio, TV and computer turned off;
parents' attention.

However, adults should not predict their child’s wishes and follow his instructions just by looking at them. It is necessary to create situations where the baby is forced to ask for something, and adults pretend that they do not understand his hints and grunts.

Development of fine motor skills

Pavlov also noted the use of muscle sensations leading from the speech organ to the cerebral cortex. This also happens in a child who begins to speak, imitating the mother’s facial expressions. After seven months of age, this ability in babies begins to weaken. That is why in the future it is necessary to use other methods. Experts have noted that the development of finger movements coincides with speech development. That is why their motor skills need to be developed in order to quickly master their native language.

Work on training children's fingers should begin as early as seven months. To do this, the baby should be allowed to roll plasticine balls or use large wooden beads as a toy. At one and a half years the tasks should be more complicated. The baby needs to be occupied with buttoning buttons or tying knots.

If a child does not speak at two years old, then he needs not just to read poetry or sing songs, but to teach him to help an adult. The child must insert words that are necessary in meaning.

Their communication with peers is of great importance for children. It is not surprising that it is in kindergarten that children begin to talk much faster. They take their cues from other children.

Many kids feel the urge to tell something after they see something new that surprises them. Parents should take this into account in the education process. For new knowledge, it is important to go with children to the circus and visit playrooms, as well as go to the village where you can show them pets. In this case, the baby will strive to tell the whole world about his vivid impressions.

Speech is necessary for a child to live a full life. It is important to begin developing it from infancy, helping the baby learn the diversity of his native language.

What to think about in advance

The full development of a child will not happen without mastering speech. The baby’s intelligence, memory, ability for self-development, tendency to self-learning, and conscious decision-making depend on this.

If the child is already two years old and he says almost nothing - this is a parental oversight.
It is a mistake to think that he will “talk.” Speech cannot be left to chance. A child will learn to speak if he is taught. His parents and relatives can do this even without the help of a specialist.

The process of learning to speak should begin before the baby is born. From the second third of the gestational period, the baby responds to sound. When they talk to a child, sing songs, read aloud, tell how glad they are for his appearance - this is the process of learning to speak.

We highlight 4 stages of training:

1st age period: from birth to six months

3 age period: 1-1.5 years

During this period, the baby first tries to pronounce substitute words, then learns the correct form. It's helpful to name everything you see without giving in to the temptation to lisp.

Simple phrases will help here. Be sure to pin new words for your child, gradually expanding the vocabulary.

For example: cube - red cube - square cube - cube lies - cube falls on the floor and knocks. It is best to conduct training in a playful way.

4 age period: 1.5-3 years

If the baby stubbornly refuses to talk, this may be an indicator of problems with speech and development. The vocabulary (active and passive) here reaches 200 units.

However, the child distorts these words, has a lisp, and rearranges sounds in words.

The reason is the inability to use the speech apparatus.

To minimize this it is important

Start developing your child’s fine motor skills through games and hide the pacifier away

do not use a pacifier, which creates difficulties with articulation;
Reading to your baby improves his pronunciation;
develop fine motor skills. Puzzles, mosaics, fastening buttons, drawing, holding a pen and spoon will help with this. Allow the baby to paint with flour, pour water, unscrew the caps, and sculpt from dough.
Tongue twisters in an interesting, humorous form help children understand their native language. They help eliminate most speech defects. It is good to accompany learning with pictures and discuss the meaning of what is being said.

10 ways to teach your child to speak by age 2

Replays. Each time, name your own actions, objects at home and on the street.
Repeat after the child. Turn repetition of syllables and vowels into a game.
Develop fine motor skills. To play, use various objects - round, rough, soft, rustling, smooth. Often a child willingly plays not with an expensive toy, but with jars, lids, scraps, boxes, and buttons strung on a thread.
Avoid explaining with gestures when the child crosses the “one year old” threshold. Teach your child simple words: give, na, thank you.
Actively use onomatopoeia animals.
Chat with talking children peers of the baby and older children.
Sing songs! By deliberately confusing words, provoke children to correct you.
Rhythmic and simple poems are great learning. Suddenly “forget” phrases- the children will continue them.
Listen to your baby's questions attentively. This encourages him to talk a lot. Assent and ask again in surprise.
In order for a child to play actively, you should not replace balls, cubes, cars, pyramids with electronic toys.

8 useful tips for establishing emotional contact with your child

For successful learning, it is necessary that the child does not get bored. Here you need to remember these rules:

Smile, sing, speak with varying intonations, clearly and correctly.
When telling your child about everything, pause for his answer.
Purposefully tell your child about various objects.
Teach your child to read whole words. First, show cards with them, then read together, use interactive guides to help.
Complete the baby's words.
Choose several different objects, united by one characteristic - color, shape, size. Show them and explain what they have in common, gradually expanding the comments.
Recite poems and sing songs, repeating them many times. Give the baby the opportunity to finish the lines himself.
Use special poem-games: okay-okay, geese-geese, etc. Don't forget counting rhymes and jokes.

Make it a rule to talk to your child everywhere

Talk to your child a lot and everywhere - at home, on a walk, performing hygienic actions.
Introduce your child to a variety of sounds.
Allow your baby to play with small objects: beans, peas, beads, coins (under supervision, of course). They can be sorted, rearranged, poured using cups, jars, trays, spoons, scoops. Play with sand.
Read fairy tales, short stories, poems, sing songs.
Conduct re-enactments. For this, not only toys and homemade products will be useful, but also everyday items and products.
Ask your child to talk more, carefully correcting his speech.
Encourage him to name an object when the baby reaches out to it, demands it and, without trying to name it, hums. Offer him something nearby. If he refuses, explain that you did not understand him.
Encourage your baby to communicate with other children - organize small holidays and group activities.

How to conduct speech development classes with your baby

These rules apply to virtually any child.

Get on the same level as the baby so that there is visual contact; in general, babies should be taken on your lap.
Classes should be conducted daily, no more than a quarter of an hour.
Preschoolers need play-based learning.
Massage your baby's face and do articulation exercises with him every day. Exercises on sound pronunciation and tongue twisters should be distributed over days.
With children under one and a half years old, speak loudly, opening your mouth wide in an exaggerated manner. With older guys - in a normal voice, clearly pronouncing sounds.
Don't forget the verbs. Also accumulate attributes of objects.
While reading books, discuss their characters.
From the age of two, children’s favorite game becomes “what is this?”. It's especially fun to play outside.

Let's sum it up

Talk to your baby before he is born. The development of a child’s speech is directly related to fine motor skills, frequency and quality of communication with elders and peers.

Allow your child to play with small objects that interest him under your control, explain to him your actions, read books and discuss them.

Listen to music, sing, joke, play, encourage any speech activity of the baby and you will be convinced that teaching a child to speak at 2 years old is a real goal.

How to teach a child to imitate the facial expressions of an adult by training the facial muscles, watch the video tutorial.

In contact with

Children aged 2-3 years develop quite quickly in all areas. This also applies to speech. It changes literally every month: the child begins to speak in solid structures, learns new words, pronounces sounds more and more clearly. At this stage, it is important for parents to monitor the compliance of the child’s speech with the age norm and, in case of problems, solve them themselves or contact a specialist.

Age norms for speech development at 2-3 years

Each age has its own vocabulary, certain pronunciation skills, and the degree of understanding of other people’s speech. So, the baby babbles his first words at the age of about a year. At first they are indistinct, but over time they become more and more clear. By the age of 2-3 years, the basic speech base is already formed, therefore, from birth to 3 years, you need to pay special attention to the development of the baby’s speech.

Speech norms in children 2-3 years old:

The vocabulary of a 2-year-old child is approximately 200-300 words, and after six months the number of words reaches 1000-1200. More than half are nouns, with verbs in second place. By the age of three, the active use of adjectives, pronouns, adverbs, prepositions and conjunctions begins.
The child is able to construct simple sentences of 2-3 words, explain what he needs, and communicate with peers. These are mostly declarative or exclamatory sentences. Single words are used as questions: where, how, why.
The child names the size of the object (large - small), color, taste (sweet - salty - sour), shape (circle - square), quality (bad - good).
Generalizing words appear in speech. For example, an orange, an apple, a pear are fruits, shoes, slippers, boots are shoes.
Lightweight words like “bi-bi” and “tu-tu” disappear from speech.
The baby understands the adult’s address to him.
Incorrect use of declensions, numbers and genders is possible. By the age of three, their use should correspond to the language norm.
Children at this age love to invent their own words. Substitutions of letters are possible, syllables in long words are swapped or shortened. For example, a spatula is a spatula, Vaseline is majeline, etc.
Two-year-old children have difficulty pronouncing hissing sounds, replacing them with whistling sounds. Hard sounds are often replaced by soft ones, and this is normal. Some children by the age of three already pronounce most sounds, even the most complex ones - l, r.

Communication with parents and loved ones is the main source of information for a child. He unconsciously copies those with whom he is close.

Advice
At the age of 2-3 years, the child’s attentiveness increases, he begins to listen to the speech of others. Children are very sensitive to the norms of language, so it is important to speak to them correctly: pronounce sounds clearly, do not lisp, use understandable words, take your time, speak with expression.

How to develop speech: games, exercises and communication

The speech development of 2-3 year old children largely depends on how much time parents devote to it.

A few rules to learn before starting classes:

You need to start communicating with your child as early as possible, even when he is not yet born.
During games and exercises, you need to look at the baby. Eye contact is a prerequisite for the emotional stability of the baby.
The child should see how the muscles of mom or dad's face move when they talk to him. This way he will quickly match certain movements with sounds. During classes, it is useful to be in front of a mirror so that you can see all the movements of your face.
The more repetitions, the better. At a younger age, you will have to repeat it ten or even twenty times so that the baby remembers better. This is normal, so parents need to be patient.
The clearer, slower and louder the words are spoken, the faster and more accurately the baby will be able to repeat them.
Any attempt to speak should be encouraged, even the most inept and unintelligible.
And, of course, you can’t swear if something doesn’t work out. Over time, it will definitely work out, but the child may experience additional difficulties due to excessive emotionality of the parents.
Classes should be carried out daily, but there is no need to overtire the baby. 10-20 minutes a day, divided into several short lessons, is enough.
The more you read to your baby, the faster his vocabulary expands. Expressive reading will help you understand complex structures.
The child's temperament must be taken into account. With high intellectual development, the baby may simply be silent.

To expand your vocabulary, it is convenient to study words on general topics: fruits, clothes, animals, toys, etc. The parent clearly names the object and offers to repeat its name. It is useful to include definitions, for example, the ball is green, the cube is yellow. It would be good if additional words would emphasize the belonging of objects to gender or number. This way the child will quickly begin to catch the difference. Example: big doll - big ball, yellow pear - yellow cube.
First, the parent names the object, and then this role is transferred to the child. You just need to point to an object and ask what it is. Any answer should be encouraged; if the child makes a mistake, then gently correct him.
Give your child riddles. It's good if the answer rhymes. Examples of riddles: “Igo-go! - the child screams, that means it’s ... (foal).” Or: “Chick-chirp! Don't be timid! I’m an experienced... (sparrow).” Other riddles: “The monkey loves oranges and bananas very much.” “He purrs and sings. Did you guess it? It's a cat)".
Read simple poems to your child and ask him to complete the phrase. After several readings, he will remember the last words.
For the little ones: the mother pronounces the first part of the word, and the son or daughter finishes it. This is how words of 2-3 syllables are learned: shop, so-baka, car, road, etc.
Let the child determine the diminutive form of the object. For example, an adult asks the question: “What is the name of the cat’s child?” The kid answers: “Kitten.” And so on: puppy, chicken, duckling, baby elephant.
To develop imagination, it is useful to ask questions such as: why do we need water? spoon? cup? Let the baby dream up.

The most effective activities are those that are conducted in a playful way.. The child feels relaxed and is interested in doing fun and active tasks. Games for developing speech for children aged 2-3 years:

Imitation of sounds of animals, birds, objects. You need to invite the child to depict the simplest sounds: bees, cows, cats, dogs, rooster, steam locomotive, etc.
Let the baby guess the sound. Play with him like this: portray some animal, and let him guess who or what such a voice belongs to.
If there are toys in the form of animals in the house, make performances with them.
A good exercise for the voice: arrange a competition to see who can hold on to the sounds “aaa”, “oooo” and others longer.
Attention game: place objects on the table and let your child remember them. Then ask him to close his eyes and remove one object. Let him guess what is missing. Start with 2-3 items, gradually increasing their number. You can play the other way around: add a new item and ask the baby to find out what appeared on the table.
Another game for attentiveness: ask your child to remember what you are wearing, leave the room, add one item (hat, scarf, glasses) and come back. The baby must understand what has changed.

Advice
It will be interesting and useful for the child to exchange with parents. Let him take on the main role: ask a riddle, ask a question, hide an object, or change clothes.

Do not ignore the exercise of the tongue and lips. General gymnastics for the development of facial muscles will be useful:

Pull out your lips with a tube.
Stretch your mouth into a smile.
Smile, showing your teeth.
Let the child just make funny faces in front of the mirror.

Advice
If your child cannot give an answer to a riddle, let him think for a while, and then clearly state the correct answer. In time he will remember it.

The benefits of finger games, drawing, modeling and other types of children's creativity

Pediatricians always recommend that parents massage their baby's hands, and when he grows up, play finger games with him. The fact is that hand exercises will stimulate those areas of the brain that are responsible for speech. The more flexible a baby’s hands are, the faster he begins to pronounce intelligible words, the faster he learns new ones, constructs sentences, and reacts to the speech of adults.

Games can begin with regular massage, rubbing, and tapping. At 2-3 years old you can play nursery rhymes with your child. The parent recites a poem, and at this time the child performs some actions with his hands. The most popular nursery rhyme games: “Ladushki”, “We shared an orange”.

Fine motor skills are significantly affected by activities such as drawing, modeling with plasticine, cutting out paper, etc. Give your child simple tasks: draw a ball, a sun, a cloud, a flower. Tell a fairy tale and draw its main character together. Contact with small objects also helps develop speech. Let the child take buttons, beads, pencils, etc.

It is recommended to perform breathing exercises. It saturates the child’s body with oxygen and energizes it. Children who breathe correctly move more actively, think better, and therefore develop faster, including in speech. Breathing exercises are also performed in the form of a game. All children like to blow soap bubbles and balls. Place candles on the birthday cake: let the child try to blow them out, making a wish.

What toys, books and aids can be used for speech development

To help parents, there are special benefits that will accelerate the baby’s speech development. Most often these are cards with pictures. It is very useful to accompany classes with images of objects. Looking at the card, the child will first name what is shown on it. Then you can come up with a short story together about this animal or object.

Children are developed by blocks, puzzles, toys, construction sets, including Lego. You need to start with 3-4 parts, increasing their number with age. Toys are always included in educational games. The most convenient object is a ball. The favorite children's game - "Edible - inedible" is impossible without this item. Let your child catch the ball when you say something is edible, and return it when you say the opposite.

Other ball games:

Mom throws the ball and names the letter. The child catches it, comes up with a word starting with the named letter, pronounces it and throws the ball to his mother.
With older children, try playing antonyms. Mom throws the ball and names a word, and the child comes up with the opposite: day - night, light - shadow, fast - slow, black - white, etc.

Listening to sounds should be included in your lessons. It’s good if you have the opportunity to take your child to the zoo.

Useful books for speech development:

E. Yanushko “Speech development in children 1-3 years old.”
S. Batyaeva, E. Savostyanova “Album on speech development for the little ones.”
L. Smirnova “Speech development in children 2-3 years old.”
A. Astakhov “My first book.”
O. Zhukova “Baby’s first textbook.”
All books with folk tales and pictures, alphabet.

Difficulties with speech development: how to determine

All children are different: some build sentences by the age of three, while others use a small number of words. Any developmental norms are conditional; speech skills directly depend on the child’s temperament and his needs. Some children just need to name the object to get it, so they don't use complex constructions.

Sometimes you can independently determine that a child has a delay in speech development based on a number of signs. Some of them are obvious:

Severely limited number of words used.
It is difficult for a child to answer simple questions.
It is difficult for him to repeat a sentence of 4-5 words after an adult.
When pronouncing certain sounds, part of the face noticeably tenses.
Frequent replacement of syllables and sounds in words.
The baby does not understand the meaning of poems and fairy tales.
He has difficulty with age-appropriate intellectual games. For example, it is not possible to assemble cubes or pictures with more than 4 parts.
The child speaks too quickly.
The child refuses to speak.

The reasons for developmental delays can be both physical characteristics and lack of attention from parents. In the second case, this is easy to fix. There are a lot of educational games, exercises, poems. In any case, the child needs to be shown to a speech therapist and neurologist to find out if there are structural defects in the speech apparatus or brain problems.

What to do if the child does not speak

When such a problem arises, many parents begin to sound the alarm. Before drawing conclusions, you need to show the child to a specialist - a speech therapist, and sometimes a neurologist. Possible problems that prevent you from speaking may include malocclusion, neurological pathologies, and hearing problems. The speech therapist must identify speech delay at an early stage; the sooner the correction begins, the more successful and easier it will be. You can show your child to a specialist as early as 2-3 years old. Speech development classes will not necessarily include diction training. They can be aimed at solving problems with hearing, attentiveness, and expanding vocabulary.

The development of speech skills up to 3 years is an important stage in the formation of a child’s personality. The sooner the baby can express his needs, the easier it will be for him to find a common language with his peers. Children with whom their parents were actively involved are more emotional, begin to show interest in surrounding objects early, and develop creatively. Even if the baby has no signs of developmental delays, home activities and games will be no less important.

When a child appeared in our house, everyone, without exception, couldn’t wait for him to start talking. But the first year passed, the second was coming to an end, and the baby continued to remain silent, uttering only the semblance of words. My husband and I, fueled by the instructions of our grandparents, whose children “read poetry at one and a half years old,” began to look for deviations, illnesses of the child and mistakes in upbringing. When should you start sounding the alarm? To answer this question, you should listen to your child and your own heart.

How does speech develop in children under 2 years of age?

Speech development occurs in stages, and each stage is present in any case , regardless of the nationality and language spoken by others. My child was no exception and went through all stages of speech development. Some stages lasted longer, some shorter, but in the end the child spoke fully.

Scream. With my first child, I had a hard time understanding why my daughter was screaming, but with my second baby, I unmistakably learned to recognize when he was screaming from hunger or when he was just bored. From the moment of birth, the only way for a child to communicate with mom and dad is to cry. With it, he expresses feelings of hunger and thirst, physical discomfort, draws attention to himself if he is hot or cold, clothes are tight or uncomfortable, and also if the baby is in pain. Attentive parents can also quickly learn to distinguish between different types of crying.
Booming. From about 3 months, newborns begin to hum: most often this happens when the baby is happy and thus expresses a feeling of satisfaction. However, this period does not have to coincide with the beginning of the party. My first daughter began to walk only at 4.5 months, being completely healthy and without any deviations, but my son was already walking and singing in every way at 2 months. The child learns to move his tongue to pronounce sounds and trains the speech apparatus in every possible way. The buzz is usually reproduced in the form of the words “Agu”, “Ua”, “Gaaa”, “Guuu”.

INTERESTING! All nations of the world have children who walk in exactly the same way.

Pronunciation of syllables and babbling. By about 7-8 months, children can pronounce different syllables, and they are not yet associated with certain images and words. The baby may say “Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma” without meaning his mother at all. However, this is an important stage in which the child masters the main part of sounds.
First words. At the age of one, my first child could only say so much: “baba”, “dad”, “yum-yum” and a couple more phrases from his personal repertoire that cannot be translated into human language. By the age of one year, a baby can know and pronounce up to 10 words. Moreover, these may not always be full words. For example, instead of the word “dog,” a child may still say “Woof-woof,” which in his mind is associated with a specific image. It is also acceptable to pronounce truncated words, for example, “kava” instead of “cow”.
Conscious speech. By the age of two, a child usually has a certain set of words that, at the very least, he can communicate with adults. Usually this vocabulary is enough to call mom and ask for a toy. It is considered normal if a child speaks about himself in the third person: “Masha is playing” instead of “I am playing.” It is from this stage that speech will rapidly develop every day, and the vocabulary will fill up.

Speech norms for a 2 year old child

Since all children are individual in their development, there are no clear standards. However, there is a generalized idea of what kind of progress occurs in speech development. I put together all the information related to speech development.

Here's what a 2-year-old child can do, according to pediatricians, psychologists and neurologists:

have an active vocabulary of 100-300 words;
use prepositions (usually “in” and “on”) and conjunctions in speech;
intonation may appear in speech, especially when asking a question;
has an idea of a certain category of objects (body parts, animals, fruits and vegetables) and can partially name them;
correctly points to the picture when adults ask: “Show me...”;
builds short sentences of 2-3 words;
uses pronouns “I”, “You”, “We”;
may ask the question “What is this?”

These standards do not mean that by the age of 2, every child must be able to do everything on this list. For example, many of my friends’ children at two years old have a fairly good understanding of the world around them, but do not actively use vocabulary.

The best games for developing a child's speech at 2 years old

Cards. A classic game for the all-round development of a child. For my daughter, this game was the main activity of the day for a long time. The bulk of our vocabulary was formed by words from the cards. The essence of the game is that you need to take out a card at random, show it to the child and ask him to name the object depicted. It is best to start with pictures of a certain category, the most familiar, for example, animals or transport. When asking a question, you need to pause for a few seconds: the child needs time to identify the object and remember its name. If the baby is confused and doesn’t know what to answer, then after 10-15 seconds you need to name the word.
Ladushki and other poems and jokes. The game, familiar to everyone, allows you not only to have fun, but also to contribute to the development of speech. For my daughter, this game became interesting only at 1.5 years old, and before that age it did not arouse any interest in her. Touching the baby's palms and fingertips will activate the work of the speech center receptors, and the child can finish each line from a familiar poem after an adult. This game can be played with any children's poems, inviting the child to complete a familiar phrase.

Who says what? A most exciting game that almost all kids adore. Even at 3.5 years old, my child remembers with pleasure how pussies and dogs speak. Pointing to the picture, you need to ask the child to reproduce animal sounds: “What does the dog say?” - "Bow-wow". A more difficult option is to deliberately make a mistake so that the child can correct the adult: “What does the cat say? Kwa-kwa?” - “No, meow-meow!” The child will find it funny that an adult says something wrong, and he, the kid, corrects him.
Stupid adult. If a child asks for some interesting thing, the adult must deliberately offer something else, pretending that he does not understand the child, and forcing him to explain and name the thing on his own. For example, a child asks for an apple, and an adult asks: “Do you want a spatula? No? Or maybe a bear?” But in this situation, the main thing is not to go too far and not bring the child to the point of fatigue and resentment. For my daughter, the limit was 2-3 “wrong” answers, after which she would get upset and could cry.
Who hid in the bag? You can put several animal toys in a small bag and take them out one at a time, showing only the head, asking the child to name the animal. You can also invite him to put his hand into the bag and pull out the toy - thus, in addition to the play moment, the child will additionally receive a finger massage and develop fine motor skills.
How does it sound and speak? For two years old, it is absolutely normal to call objects not by their names, but by the sounds they make. This applies not only to the onomatopoeia of animals, but also to the bulk of surrounding objects. For a very long time we called the car “beep-beep”, the food “yum-yum”, and our favorite horse “yoke-go”. If a child speaks very poorly, then you can constantly encourage him to vocalize the world around him: “How is it raining? - “Drip-drip”, “How do the feet stomp?” - “Top-top”, “How does the bell ring?” - “Ding-ding.” You can choose your own sound for almost any object or action.

It is known that articulatory gymnastics promotes speech development. My attempt to explain to a small child that he needed to do an exercise to develop speech was not crowned with success. So I suggested just making faces and making faces in front of the mirror. You can also blow soap bubbles or balloons, blow on a feather or candle flame, actively grimace: show your tongue, teeth, puff out your cheeks and stretch out your lips with a tube, for example, depicting a lion or monkey.
Development of fine motor skills. There are receptors on the fingers that activate the motor center in the brain, located next to the speech center. That is why they say that a child’s speech is located at the tips of his fingers. Any games are suitable for the development of fine motor skills: pouring and rearranging small objects or cereals, finger drawing and plasticine, playing magpie and finger massage.

What to do if the child has not started speaking?

At the age of 2, my daughter stubbornly refused to speak, despite all my attempts to use a comprehensive and varied approach to the development of the speech apparatus. This was felt especially acutely when I saw the disapproving glances of my relatives, who believed that I was simply not working with my daughter.

Any parent will be concerned about the silence of a child at two years old. How can we determine whether this is a consequence of an illness, some kind of developmental disorder, or is it an individual characteristic of the child? There are several reasons for “silence” and ways to resolve them.

	Cause	Solution
1.	Heredity	If one of the child’s parents began to speak late, then this feature can be inherited. In this situation, you just need to bide your time.
2.	Features of character and temperament	Some children can be shy and timid even at 2 years old. If the baby is not very willing to play with other children, prefers loneliness and is generally quite calm emotionally, then perhaps his speech development will not be as rapid as that of other peers.
3.	*No need for speech*	If, at each child’s request, the mother immediately gives him the right thing or performs a certain action, then the baby does not need to develop speech. The child should be given the opportunity to show his need in every possible way, playing at the “stupid adult”.
4.	ENT diseases and neurological defects	It happens that the cause of speech delay is disorders of the ENT organs (defects, diseases) or various neurological abnormalities. In this case, consultation with an otolaryngologist and neurologist is necessary. It would also be a good idea to show the baby to a psychologist and speech therapist. It is recommended to contact several specialists to get different opinions. The doctor will prescribe appropriate treatment and give recommendations.
5.	Excessive parental pressure	Parents who want their children to start speaking as early as possible sometimes go too far and literally force the child to speak. At such a tender age, the baby’s psyche is very vulnerable and under the pressure of his parents he can become completely silent. You should reconsider your methods of speech development and, perhaps, give your child a break.
6.	Lack of interest	The baby may simply not like the developmental games that his mother plays with him, considering this or that game the most effective. You need to take a close look at the child’s interests and offer him activities that will bring him pleasure.
7.	Lack of society	If all the child’s communication occurs only with mom or dad, then speech development can proceed quite slowly. Communication with peers will give him a lot of pleasure and arouse interest in communicating with them. If your child does not go to kindergarten, you can attend educational clubs, where age-appropriate group classes are held, or simply communicate with other children on the playground.

My experience of speech development in a child

When my daughter turned 1.5 years old, I heard a lot of indignation from relatives about why my child spoke only a few words, and not whole sentences, and especially did not recite poetry. Like all caring parents, I was very worried, played all sorts of games, massaged my fingers and took me to the most fashionable clubs, but there was no result. When Polina turned 1 year and 8 months old, our family had the opportunity to send our daughter to kindergarten. At an appointment with a psychologist before entering kindergarten, I was told a terrible diagnosis - delayed speech development. They prescribed the “smart” medicine “Pantogam”. After thinking about it, I did not give it to the child, but calmly sent it to the kindergarten.

After 2 months of visiting, the child learned many new things: eat with a spoon on his own, ask to go to the potty in a timely manner. But she still said very little. A month after we celebrated her second birthday, the child literally “burst”: words and entire sentences poured out of her in an endless stream. At 2.5 years old she recited short quatrains. Today my child is 3.5 years old. Her mouth doesn’t close for a minute, she tells fairy tales, asks a billion questions, and a 24-hour “children’s radio” has started working in our house, which makes our ears hurt in the evening.

Therefore, all parents who are concerned about their child’s speech development can be given universal advice: take a closer look at your children, watch them and listen to your own heart. If the baby does not have any physiological or neurological abnormalities, then just be loving and attentive parents, and after a while the baby will start talking in such a way that it simply cannot be stopped.

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In this article:

Speech is what distinguishes people from all other living beings on the planet. Therefore, we can say that the sooner a child begins to speak, the faster he will begin to correspond to the concept of “person.” When a baby's vocabulary expands, he has more opportunities to learn about the world around him, and at the same time develop his mind and his senses.

The faster children learn to talk, the faster they grow up. With talking toddlers it is easier to find a language to communicate and resolve various controversial issues and situations. Therefore, the question of how to quickly teach a child to speak becomes very relevant, even if we are talking about a two-year-old child. At 2 years old, children are the most inquisitive, and if at this age you help them master the basics of their native language, then their horizons and capabilities will begin to develop much faster and deeper than if you do not work with the child.

Where to begin

There are many different ways that you can use to help your child quickly acquire a larger vocabulary. By searching for “how to teach a 2-year-old child to talk,” you can find on the Internet not only advice, but also all kinds of audio and video materials with recommendations. specialists and ready-made development programs, including animated ones, that is, interesting to a two-year-old child.

Also, many scientific works and articles have been written on this topic, but not every mother can afford to read ten-volume books, moreover, written in a rather complex language. Therefore, we tried to simplify the information, summarize some life experience and answer such an important question - how can you teach a child to speak at 2 years old if he has not done so yet? Let us immediately note that at this age, the absence of coherent speech is not a pathology. Some children begin to speak only at the age of three, but immediately in whole sentences!

It should also be remembered that if by the age of two the child is still unable to correctly pronounce many sounds and words of his native language, then this is not a reason to worry and run to the doctors in search of a non-existent deviation. Everything has its time. And 2 years is precisely the period of development of a child’s speech. How and what to teach a child during this period, so that at the age of 2 he can clearly express his request and understand what they want from him - this will be discussed further.

Two-year-old children love to copy adults, including repeating words after them. This desire of kids should be used to expand their vocabulary. However, it is important to fill it with good words. Try to forget everything that is not intended for children's ears, control yourself. After all, you should first of all raise not the child, but the mother and father, since the baby will still grow up just like them.

Children during this period look like parrots. They absorb everything they hear often like sponges, and then begin to reproduce it. At first, without understanding the meaning. Therefore, so that adults are not shocked by the child’s vocabulary, they should make every effort to fill it with kind, good words and
concepts. And to do this, you will have to keep your mouth shut, and also monitor the child’s social circle, controlling the baby’s babble for now.

You should not be touched by swear words or bad words that a child utters without understanding the meaning. This is temporary. In addition, the joy of parents will force the child to repeat these words over and over again, which will allow them to become entrenched in the vocabulary and imprinted in memory. Then it is very difficult to explain to the child why these words suddenly became bad, because just yesterday they so pleased adults who laughed at the “cuteness” of their “adult” little one.

The best thing to do in such situations is to eliminate the source of bad words or distance the child from it. If this is someone close to you, then you will have to have a serious conversation, perhaps more than one. However, this will have to be done. If you don’t pay attention to the problem, and this is exactly the problem, right away, then you can later run into a lot of trouble when the child begins to utter swear words deliberately. Imagine this happening in a store, on a playground, in a garden or any other public place, where such words from a child’s mouth will become a shock to others and a reason for reproach from parents.

During the period of speech development - from one to five years - it is very important to monitor not only the baby’s vocabulary, but also your own. Remember that children follow the example of adults more than they listen to their words. And if you tell the baby that this word cannot be spoken, but time use it from time to time, the child will involuntarily learn not the recommendation, but the parental example.

The best way to teach a child to speak is to talk to him. Communication, care, attention and participation are what will help to get even the biggest silent person to talk.

What methods can help expand children's speech practice?

We can safely say that fine motor skills play one of the main roles in the development of speech in two-year-old children. There are many video lessons and films on the Internet on the development of fine motor skills in children. What refers to hand motor skills? What activities and activities can help her development? Here's a short list:

Of course, at first it will be scribbles, but that's just your opinion. The child will definitely later say what he drew. And he will say it himself! After all, this is what adults achieve. Talking to a baby is a task of tasks. And the development of motor skills in this matter is very important, since the brain centers responsible for the work of the hands are located next to those responsible for speech. When some are activated, others are connected, that is, they work in conjunction. Therefore, dear parents, do not waste your time and, in addition to communicating with your baby, pay maximum attention to the work of his hands. Constructors, cubes and puzzles to help you!

By the way, while drawing, be sure to admire the toddler’s masterpieces. This will support his desire to create further. Don't correct what you've drawn. Praise, praise and praise again. And then ask for more and more new drawings, because they are so good!

It is best to pay attention to your child every day and draw with him. Not only drawings will help your baby speak, but also putting together puzzles, fastening buttons and tying shoelaces, as well as playing with special toys with adults who will explain what and how to do with them. Play more and more often with your child, because it is in a playful form that children perceive best real life and enjoy doing all sorts of useful things that have a beneficial effect on their development.

Scientists around the world have long proven that the development of fine motor skills is directly related to the development of a child’s speech and thinking. So, when massaging the fingers of a baby under one year old, you influence the points that send signals to the part of the cerebral cortex responsible for the development of speech.

Three stages of speech development in children

From birth to two years.

This is the period of formation of speech development in a small person, the stage of laying the foundations of a child’s communication skills. At this moment, speech zones are actively developing in the cerebral cortex of children. It is necessary to avoid negative circumstances and stress, because even the most insignificant of them can slow down the development of the baby’s speech.

Third year period.

At this age, children's coherent speech begins to develop intensively. This period can be called critical. Active growth of the body makes itself felt in the imbalance of the endocrine, vascular and central nervous systems. It negatively affects the child's behavior. During this period, children begin to show
stubbornness and nihilism. Often toddlers protest the increased demands of their parents or, conversely, increase their demands on adults. It is at this age that one should be as firm as possible with children, but at the same time showing loyalty, since the physiological processes occurring inside the child’s body are manifested by the chaotic maturation of certain nodes of the functional speech system. Also, at this age, stress, combined with the child’s developmental characteristics, can create the preconditions for stuttering.

6-7 years.

This is the stage of development of written speech. The load on the central nervous system increases. If at this age a child is subjected to psychological pressure with increasing demands, then disturbances and disruptions in nervous activity are quite likely. They may manifest themselves as stuttering or other speech disorders. If you find something similar in your baby, then you should not solve the problem yourself - it is better to contact a speech therapist.

Symptoms that indicate the presence of psychospeech delay in children

If you notice one of these symptoms in your baby, first of all contact a child psychologist so that he can determine the causes of the baby’s developmental delay. These reasons can be very serious, so you should not hesitate. The earlier the problem and its cause are identified, the easier it is to correct the consequences.

Reasons for delayed speech development in a child

How can parents independently determine that the efforts aimed at teaching a two-year-old to talk are not in vain? Perhaps the child does not speak not because he does not want to, but because that it can't. You should know that the reasons may be physiological and related to genetics. They cannot be eliminated through simple activities that are required for the development of healthy children. These are the reasons:

brain diseases;
consequences of traumatic head injuries;
infectious diseases that the mother suffered during pregnancy or breastfeeding;
hearing problems;
slow growth of cells in the part of the brain responsible for speech.

But that's not all. There are also social reasons for delayed speech development. First of all, this is the lack of the necessary minimum of communication. Children in orphanages suffer from this. And if you don’t want to make your child like the unfortunate abandoned children, spend time with him. Communicate with pleasure – daily and hourly. If you cannot find a free minute for a child of such a small age, then what will happen when he enters puberty? After all, to solve most problems and conflicts of adolescence, you will need to talk a lot. In this case, it is desirable that the child listens and hears you. However, this will not happen if you can’t get along with him now.
relationship, paying attention and just talking. The period of childhood quickly passes, and then it cannot be returned, as well as mutual understanding, the foundations for which there was simply no time to lay.

Sometimes parents go to the other extreme. They try to predict the baby's wishes before he has time to express them. This is a big mistake. Remember! By developing a child’s speech, helping him express his requests and initiatives, you develop his thinking. Encourage your baby to talk from birth, and you won't have to think about how to get your child to talk and communicate at 2 years old.

What should parents do to get their child to talk?

The baby has turned 2, he has no serious reasons for silence, but he is silent, and this is where you see the problem - know: you will have a hard time. After all, at 2 years old it is no longer easy to catch up if the problem lies with the parents.

What could be obtained naturally by developing the baby’s speech from birth, day after day, will now have to be acquired through hard work. But this is not a reason to give up and refuse complex and painstaking work, otherwise you may miss out on even more. At two years old, it is still possible to catch up with speech development, and quite quickly. Later it’s very difficult Each step will be given by the willpower of the parents and the child, who must work together for the result, but one of the parties may simply not want this.

On the Internet you can find a special set of games for the speech development of children. They are offered in the form of videos. As they say, it’s better to see once... To involve your baby in the game, you can show him some new object, and then quickly hide it and show him again. Such techniques lift children’s spirits, evoke positive emotions and encourage them to continue playing and, at the same time, start communicating. At two years old, children are interested in everything new, preferably something bright. They love the game of hide and seek, and this can be used for good purposes, for example, to teach them to talk.

When you play with your baby or walk outside, remember: in order to teach him to say new words, they need to be repeated many times in different situations and intonations. In the game, it is important that you do not remain silent, but comment on your every action: “Now we will put a red ring on the pyramid...”, “put another cube on top...”, “let’s draw a bear... here is the bear’s head... here are the ears... eyes, nose, mouth, torso...", etc. When you are doing any work, also pretend to be a commentator. Meticulous and detailed. Say out loud what you are doing: “Let’s take a pan, pour water into it...”. This will be unobtrusive training.

Teach your child to observe and reason. This can be done by leisurely walking through the park and paying attention to various natural phenomena and people’s actions. It is good to conduct such lessons while standing at the window, which is like a portal to another world for the baby. Children love to look out the windows, especially when it is raining or snowing outside, and something interesting is happening.

You can show him leaves, grass, clouds. Ask questions if he begins to pronounce certain words and phrases. If the baby said something about a tree, you can ask what color the leaves are on it. The conversation must be constantly stimulated, pushing the child towards its further development. It's so easy to learn new words and also learn to speak in general.

It’s good to read books to your baby and learn simple songs with him. In this way, you will develop both your baby’s memory and ear for music. To attract attention to the book, choose bright and colorful editions. Yes, you will pay many times more for them, but you will also be pleased with the results faster! This is much more important than the difference you could save.

You should definitely repeat what you have learned. Find a studied subject, poem, song in a book,
so that the baby himself can say what it is. With this technique, the necessary information is stored in memory and speech development occurs.

Talking on the phone also helps in speech development. When you are talking to someone the baby knows, give him the phone, and ask the caller to ask the baby a couple of simple questions that he could answer. The most relevant and popular are conversations with grandmothers - they can babble for hours with their beloved grandchildren. Use the desire of both subscribers to communicate for the benefit of your own child, because it is so easy to teach not only to speak, but also to maintain a dialogue!

It is equally useful to conduct active games with children, especially in the fresh air, where you can happily follow mother’s commands and repeat her actions, for example, squatting, running, spinning, jumping. This way you can teach your baby to talk. All these methods are quite suitable for children of two years.

Children are like little trees: if you take care of them and protect them from negative factors, they will grow and turn into mighty trees that will give joy, fruits and shade during hot days. If you don’t deal with them and don’t teach them, then it will be easy to break them, no matter how old they get, no matter what they achieve in life... And now your task is to teach the baby to speak, because he is so young and has everything ahead of him.

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